Think before you speak

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. That's not really true is it?

It seems that each and every day, people forget the golden rule: Do unto to others as you would have them do unto you.

In the not too distant past, people didn't think twice about holding doors for people, asking strangers if they need help, giving someone in front of them at the grocery spare change if they came up short, or even helping them up when they fall.

That isn't to say that these things don't happen anymore because they do, but not nearly as often as they used to.

It seems that people are only out for themselves now and some even have that "kick them when they're down" mentality, just to get ahead in life.

We often forget that there are people who are worse off than us and need help to pick themselves up.

The people who spend their lives helping others are often treated poorly for helping.

The military, police officers, firefighters, teachers, emergency workers, doctors, nurses, and people who work at shelters and food pantries have extremely hard jobs, jobs they do because they like to help people, and they don't get nearly as much recognition as they deserve.

Some people even say these people only do the jobs because they want recognition. Some people believe the police just want to arrest people to make their lives difficult, completely forgetting that cops join the force to protect and serve.

People often complain that people who need assistance from the government want to be in that situation, that they just want to live off of other people's handouts.

Trust me, no one wants to live like that: barely scraping by, worried they will get sick or injured and unable to go to the doctor, not knowing how they can pay their bills, not knowing if they can feed their children.

Government aid doesn't give them a lavish lifestyle, it merely makes sure they don't starve to death or die from a preventable disease.

We often look down on those who have less than us, not thinking about the circumstances that put them in that position.

If everyone would just take the time to help one another instead of pushing each other down, the world would be a much better place.